Business

Securant Bank & Trust to sell trust unit to Midland States Bank

Securant Bank & Trust said Tuesday it plans to sell its settlement trust unit to a bank in Illinois.

Securant's settlement trust group specializes in providing trust administration to clients receiving litigation settlements. The business serves a wide range of clients across the U.S., Securant said.

The Menomonee Falls-based bank said it has an agreement to sell the unit to Midland States Bank, of Effingham, Ill. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

"We are pleased that we have built this niche business in a relatively short period of time, and we believe Midland States is well positioned to build upon this growth and serve our existing trust customers," David Davis, Securant's president and chief executive, said in a statement. "This sale provides Securant with capital that we feel can be deployed more effectively in other areas of our operations. As our institution approaches 100 years of serving southeastern Wisconsin we plan to redouble our efforts to focus on the small to mid-sized business community."

Securant is among dozens of Wisconsin banks that have been ordered by regulators in recent years to increase capital to cope with loans that began souring during the recession. Capital is a measure of a bank's strength and acts as a cushion against loans that go bad.

Securant lost $4.8 million in 2012 after losing $6.7 million in 2011, records from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. show.